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Monday, December 17, 2012

Where Do We Draw The Line?

This past Friday we all heard the news of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut. 26 people were killed in the shooting that rocked the country and changed the lives of many. On the day of the tragedy, parents of the children flocked to the school, understandably anxious to hold their children and make sure they were all right. Unfortunately, 20 sets of parents were not able to do so.

Throughout the day, news stations covered the scene nonstop. Twitter and Facebook went into overdrive with constant updates and live streams of press conferences from the police force on the scene. President Obama emotionally responded to the tragedy and expressed his condolences to the parents and family members of the deceased, on behalf of the nation.

But on the home front, as parents were arriving at the school to pick up their children who just witnessed a shooting, reporters from major news stations like CNN and CBS were interviewing the 5-10 year old students who were luckily able to escape the massacre. Most were unable to really express what happened besides hearing screaming and gunshots. Conversations have been going on about how parents should explain the shooting and how such a traumatic experience will effect them in the future. In the meantime, national news stations were desperate to cover all the bases, even if it meant interviewing shaken up, traumatized children.

What do you think? Was the media right to interview the young victims of the shooting? Or should they have drawn the line given the circumstances?